Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Receives $112.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and set a $113.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,716,840. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total value of $1,713,808.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 62,237 shares in the company, valued at $6,841,713.41. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 235,077 shares of company stock worth $25,690,082. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 188.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

AFL stock opened at $109.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.11 and a 200-day moving average of $110.38.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.